After commissioning, the system was powered on from 8am with a starting water temperature of 20°C. The system achieved 12,000 liters of storage at a temperature of 71°C by 3.30pm. Ambient temperatures were 10.9°C – 19.9°C.
De Bortoli Wines were looking to expand their bottling lines to keep up with increased demand. This was seen as an opportunity to not only increase efficiency of the production line, but also design the new plant with energy efficiency in mind to reduce their overall energy usage, this included utilizing wall and ceiling insulation, high efficiency HVAC, condensing boilers, a 230kw photovoltaic solar system and the 200kw Apricus solar thermal plant – the largest solar thermal plant on a winery in Australia.
De Bortoli’s state of the art solar thermal system utilises 3,000 Apricus evacuated tubes to preheat the condensing boilers to dramatically reduce their gas consumption.
De Bortoli Wines Australia
The Apricus evacuated tubes were a perfect fit for this application due to their built in frost protection (-15°C rating without glycol) and high temperature performance. The collectors were mounted on a 37° pitch to maximise solar performance during the winter months.
Location: De Bortoli Wines, Australia
Application: Bottling Line and Washdown
Collector Size: 100 x Apricus AP-30
Storage Tanks: 2 x 6,000ltr 2205 Stainless Steel
Contractor: Fletcher Plumbing & Co.
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